Griffin leads Clippers in 123-87 blowout of Lakers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Blake Griffin had 33 points and 12 rebounds, and the Clippers shot 71 percent in the first quarter on the way to their largest-ever victory over the downtrodden Los Angeles Lakers, 123-87 Friday night.

Darren Collison had 20 points and seven assists, J.J. Redick added 19 points in his return, and DeAndre Jordan had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the Clippers’ third straight win and fifth in six games. They improved to 17-3 at home, second-best in the NBA.

The Clippers’ previous biggest win over the Lakers was 31 points on Feb. 19, 1992. That Lakers team included James Worthy, Byron Scott and A.C. Green.

Kendall Marshall scored 16 points, and Wesley Johnson and Robert Sacre added 14 points each for the Lakers, who’ve lost four straight and 10 of 11. Pau Gasol had 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists. They had 21 turnovers and shot 34 percent.

Both teams were missing their resident superstars: Chris Paul has a separated right shoulder and Kobe Bryant has a fractured left knee, his second major injury this season.

The Lakers beat the Clippers by 13 points in the season opener in October.

Things sure have changed.

The Clippers under new coach Doc Rivers are fourth in the Western Conference standings; the injury-riddled Lakers are mired near the bottom under Mike D’Antoni.

The Lakers were so short-handed they had to re-insert starters Johnson and Sacre in the fourth, when the teams’ second units matched up as fans began leaving Staples Center in droves. Marshall stepped on a referee’s foot and rolled his ankle in the third, but stayed in the game.

The Clippers opened the game shooting a season-best 71 percent while scoring 43 points, most in a quarter this season. Redick scored eight of their first 12 points of the game after missing 21 games with a broken right hand and torn ligament in his wrist.

Griffin scored 18 points in the first, when the Clippers had runs of 10-0 and 14-0 in taking a 43-25 lead. The Lakers used a 12-2 spurt to close within one before Griffin and Jordan combined to score 12 of their final 14 points.

The Lakers never got any closer.

Griffin provided multiple highlight moments, slamming down a one-handed jam off an alley-oop pass from Collison. Another of Griffin’s powerful dunks had former Clippers center Chris Kaman ducking out of the way before Jordan sealed the 14-0 run with a steal and monster dunk of his own.

The Clippers’ reserves played most of the second quarter, extending their lead to 70-52 at the break.

The Lakers missed 18 of 20 shots in the third, when they scored just eight points and trailed 101-60 as Bryant looked on from the bench, his head propped in his left hand.

Griffin dominated the third, scoring 13 points. Jordan got a technical after he and Gasol exchanged words nose-to-nose. Griffin went on to hit a jumper over an outstretched Gasol.

NOTES: Veteran F Hedo Turkoglu worked out for the Clippers on Thursday. He has been without a team since he was released by Orlando last fall. "We’re not doing anything anytime soon," Rivers said. … The Lakers fell to 6-13 on the road and 3-11 on the road against West opponents. … Injured Lakers G Steve Nash (nerve root irritation) has been working out on the court by himself. … Gilbert Arenas, currently out of the NBA, created a jam in the aisle at halftime when he stopped to take photos with fans. … Hall of Fame baseball manager Tom Lasorda drew shouts from fans as he made his way to his seat.